Fire Ant Control

Locate all fire ant mounds. The best method for killing fire ants is known as the Two-Step Method (see below). Before controlling, however, you should locate them. If you don't already know where the mounds are, find them. In the late morning or late afternoon (when ants are doing their most vigorous foraging) place a can of wet pet food or a tray of jelly in the yard, and let the ants find it. When they do, choose some ants that are carrying bait and follow them back to the mound. It will be boring—do it anyway. There may be more than one mound, so do this in several places throughout the yard.

Initiate Step One of the Two-Step Method. This is the spreading of a slow-acting, granular bait in your yard. I stress "slow acting" because you don't want the fire ants to die before they can collect the bait and deliver it back to the mound where the queen, larvae, and rest of the colony can be affected. Dump your fire ant bait (Advion Fire Ant Bait, Amdro Fire Ant Bait, or Spectracide Fire Ant Killer Plus Preventer Bait Once & Done) in a fertilizer spreader and spread it around your yard in the mid-morning or late afternoon; this is when the fire ants do their most vigorous foraging. Do this when you know the weather will be dry for forty-eight hours.

Initiate Step Two. Go after the fire ant mounds two or three days after spreading the bait. This can be done in several ways. You may choose to use a granule whose efficacy is increased by watering (Ortho Max Fire Ant Mound Drench), a powder that is collected by foragers and then taken into the mound (Amdro Fire Strike Mound Treatment), or a liquid drench designed to be poured over the mound (Orange Guard Fire Ant Control). It's often recommended with liquid drenches that, directly before application, you poke holes in the mound with a long, thin object such as a stick to increase saturation. Use liquid drenches on cooler days when the fire ants are nearer the surface.

Continue with season-long fire ant control. The Two-Step Method mentioned above will do an amazing job of killing fire ant colonies currently invading your property. It won't, however, keep them from re-infesting. The most effective way to keep new fire ant colonies from moving back in is to occasionally (two to four times a season, with a final application in the late fall before winter) spread a dual-action fire ant bait throughout your yard. I recommend using Extinguish Plus Fire Ant Bait or Amdro Fire Strike Dual Formula. Both contain an insecticide for a quick knock down as well as an insect growth regulator (IGR) for sterilization. Use a fertilizer spreader for application.

Protect plants from fire ants. Fire ants are omnivores. While they prefer proteinous meals, they'll sometimes attempt to satiate their hunger with your garden plants. Fire ants will eat some fruit and foliage but generally only do so when there's prior damage. More often fire ants will girdle plants (which results in more damage). Protect plants by keeping all branches and foliage trimmed up and away from the ground, so fire ants can't gain access. To avoid girdling, lay sticky traps around the stems or spray the stems with a sorptive aerosol like Tri-Die. It's formulated with silica dust (along with pyrethrins), and kills ants by absorbing their waxy coating and causing them to dry out, or desiccate.